Shark Tank Season 17, Episode 9

Jan 14, 2026 · Kendra Scott Takes Half a Baby-Patting Startup as All Four Pitches Land Deals

On the panel: Kendra Scott, Robert Herjavec, Rashaun Williams, Lori Greiner, Kevin O'Leary

Who Got a Deal on Shark Tank Season 17, Episode 9

Recap

The Verdict

A practical-problems episode with a perfect deal rate: Kendra bought big stakes in two young companies, Kevin took a DIY bar, and a Navy veteran's date-sweetened chocolate got two sharks.

All four entrepreneurs walked out with a deal in an episode built around practical solutions to everyday problems, with Kendra Scott and Rashaun Williams back as guest sharks. The hour also featured an update from Cousins Maine Lobster, which had grown from one food truck to a hundred, a thousand employees and more than $1 billion in lifetime revenue since Season 4.

Nelson Brooks of Scottsdale pitched Cabana Boys Events, a party staffing service of bartenders, butlers, hype men and lotion applicators across 11 cities, and served the sharks cocktails during the demo. Kendra, who had hired Cabana Boys for her own birthday party, was the lone bidder at $225,000 for 40%, and Nelson negotiated her to 32%. Megan Pando's Makers Social, a 50-seat DIY project bar in Columbus, Ohio where customers make leather goods or woodwork while drinking cocktails, had the sharks hammering their initials into wallets. Concerns about scaling a founder-driven business left Kevin O'Leary as the only offer, $150,000 for 20%, double the equity Megan wanted, and she took it.

Thereasa Black, a former Navy surface warfare officer, pitched Bon AppéSweet, plant-based chocolate bars sweetened only with dates, already in 376 Walmart stores. Rashaun offered exactly her ask of $75,000 for 10%, Robert Herjavec added $100,000 for another 10%, and she took both. The night closed with Sleepy Baby, a portable baby-patting device from Los Angeles couple Gary Harutyunyan and Siran Kirakosyan with only $21,000 in sales. Kendra recalled standing over a crib tapping her baby for hours wishing this existed, offered $70,000 for 50%, and the founders accepted.

Pitch by Pitch

Cabana Boys EventsCabana Boys EventsEntertainment
Deal

Asked $225,000 for 10% · Deal $225,000 for 32% with Kendra Scott

Nelson Brooks pitched Cabana Boys Events, a Scottsdale-based party-host and bartending staffing service supplying butlers, bartenders, Spotify DJs, lotion applicators, hype men and amateur photographers across 11 U.S. locations, at $80 an hour per bartender with a two-hour minimum. He launched in August 2020 after noticing party guests stuck on their phones and basic bartending offering nothing memorable. Lifetime sales were $3.6 million at a 57% gross margin, but 2024 showed a $146,000 loss from a failed marketing campaign. Robert Herjavec went out on the losses, Kevin O'Leary saw no path to a 10x return, Lori Greiner thought Nelson didn't need investor money, and Rashaun Williams couldn't get comfortable with the service model. Kendra Scott offered $225,000 for 40%; Nelson countered and they settled at 32%.

Best Moment
“Nelson staged live demos, serving one shark a vodka martini and giving others a Nashville experience, and Kendra revealed she had personally hired Cabana Boys for her own birthday party.”
Interested
Kendra Scott
Out
Robert Herjavec, Kevin O'Leary, Lori Greiner, Rashaun Williams

Where they are now:Thriving$567,000 revenueFull update →

Entertainment companies have a 68% deal rate on Shark Tank

Makers SocialMakers SocialEntertainment
Deal

Asked $150,000 for 10% · Deal $150,000 for 20% with Kevin O'Leary

Megan Pando of Columbus, Ohio pitched Makers Social, an 1,800-square-foot, 50-seat DIY project bar where customers choose from more than 30 projects in leatherwork, woodworking, jewelry and concrete while drinking cocktails, with projects running $40 to $60 and alcohol making up 30% of revenue. A University of Cincinnati studio arts graduate who had sold a paint-and-sip studio, she opened in January 2020 with $300,000 of personal savings, just before COVID. Revenue was $546,000 in 2024 with $41,000 net profit and a 30% EBITDA. Kendra Scott and Rashaun Williams declined over scalability and franchising concerns, and Lori Greiner and Robert Herjavec didn't see the potential, worrying nobody would run the business exactly the way Megan does. Kevin O'Leary, noting the similarity to Wine and Design from Season 8, offered $150,000 for 20%, double her 10% ask. Megan initially countered, then accepted.

Best Moment
“Every shark had to hammer their own initials into a leather wallet during the demo.”
Interested
Kevin O'Leary
Out
Kendra Scott, Rashaun Williams, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec

Where they are now:Operating$550,000 revenueFull update →

Entertainment companies have a 68% deal rate on Shark Tank

Bon AppéSweetFood & Beverage
Deal

Asked $75,000 for 10% · Deal $175,000 for 20% with Robert Herjavec, Rashaun Williams

Thereasa Black, a former Navy Surface Warfare Officer who drove an aircraft carrier, pitched Bon AppéSweet, plant-based, dairy-free chocolate bars sweetened only with dates using Peruvian cacao, in flavors like Golden and Pumpkin Spice Warrior at $8.50 retail. She founded the company in February 2021 after realizing her daughter loved chocolate but everything contained processed sugar, and taught herself chocolate-making from YouTube videos. Sales were $526,000 in 2024 without profit, with placement in 376 Walmart stores and Whole Foods, and Sam's Club had just expanded a 12-store test to 300 clubs, creating an urgent financing need. Kevin O'Leary made no offer, and Lori Greiner and Kendra Scott went out while advising her to take Rashaun's deal. Rashaun Williams offered exactly her ask, $75,000 for 10%, and Robert Herjavec added $100,000 for another 10%, for a combined $175,000 for 20%.

Best Moment
“Black's revelation that she taught herself chocolate-making from YouTube videos stunned the sharks, as did the news that Sam's Club had expanded her test from 12 stores to 300.”
Interested
Rashaun Williams, Robert Herjavec
Out
Kevin O'Leary, Lori Greiner, Kendra Scott

Where they are now:Thriving$550,000 revenueFull update →

Food & Beverage companies have a 61% deal rate on Shark Tank

Sleepy BabySleepy BabyChildren & Education
Deal

Asked $70,000 for 25% · Deal $70,000 for 50% with Kendra Scott

Los Angeles husband and wife Gary Harutyunyan and Siran Kirakosyan pitched Sleepy Baby, a patent-pending portable device with an adjustable belt that delivers gentle rhythmic pats plus white noise to soothe babies to sleep, at $63.99 retail on a $9.40 landed cost. The couple struggled to get their colicky first child to sleep in January 2023, and Siran used her medical background to experiment with electrical engineers before launching in December 2023. Sales were tiny: 331 units for about $21,000. Kevin O'Leary flagged a major customer-acquisition problem from privacy laws around marketing to parents, Robert Herjavec believed babies need a parent's physical touch, Rashaun Williams isn't a fan of the baby industry, and Lori Greiner couldn't see it scaling. Kendra Scott offered $70,000 for 50%, double the equity asked, and after brief resistance the founders accepted.

Best Moment
“Kendra shared her own memory of standing over the crib tapping her baby for hours and wishing a device like this existed, and Siran said their baby slept five hours straight with the prototype.”
Interested
Kendra Scott
Out
Kevin O'Leary, Robert Herjavec, Rashaun Williams, Lori Greiner

Where they are now:OperatingFull update →

Children & Education companies have a 66% deal rate on Shark Tank

Where to Buy the Products from Shark Tank Season 17, Episode 9

← Season 17, Episode 8All Season 17 episodesSeason 17, Episode 10→